"I celebrate myself, and sing myself."
Walt Whitman
#1 Please stop by here again on Wednesday to cheer on our own Jeanne Ryan by reading an interview and commenting for a chance to read her debut novel--NERVE. You don't want to miss this opportunity!
#2 I will be making a big, giant announcement here on Friday and there will be more prizes!
#3 The winner of last week's musical prize is: SHARI GREEN (please email me your address)
#4 February's #wipmadness host is L.S. Taylor. Check-in here on Monday.
This week I will celebrate myself and sing myself. How about you? What does that mean to you as a writer?
Celebrating myself usually means cutting myself some slack, aka Stuart Smalley style. That and buying new to me shoes on Ebay - I love the Born brand, but they're so pricey - last week I bought 4 new-to-me pairs for the price of 1 new pair! Yay for fungicide spray and new used shoes!
ReplyDeleteI made it through my first revision and my alpha reader is close on my heels and I'm all the way up to chapter 12.5 - there are 20 total plus an epilogue. So this puppy may be ready for my beta readers soon. And fingers crossed, I've got something decent enough to be Book 2 in my deal. (I set out to write a sweet romance, which I did, but now I worry about emotional heft)
We had 2 days with 2 hr delays last week. Friday off for raining ice, or SNICE as we tagged it, and a 3 hr delay today. Not so good for my students, but great for writer life. I was locked on the mountain all weekend because of the weird looks like snow but is 2" of solid ice stuff on the ground.
Anyway, I'm rambling about the weather. Can't wait to hear your big news on Friday!
Yay for bad weather! Not really, but you know what I mean. . . I'm staying in bed today. It's blizzarding and I figure my back can use the rest. I'm going to read ALL DAY!
DeleteWow, can't believe it's already the end of the month! I only missed one day of writing every day, so I'm happy about that. Can't wait to hear the big announcement!
ReplyDeleteThat's excellent wipmadness, Jennifer. Celebrate!
DeleteCan't wait to hear the big news! I can't believe the month is coming to an end. Time flies!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Miranda. Good to see you!
DeleteI've already been celebrating myself by, like JRo said, cutting myself some slack. I've been reading a lot more. I've let myself relax on the submissions, because I finished my novel's synopsis and still awaiting final feedback from my critique partner. This was still a productive month. I've given beta feedback one one novel and I have at least one more in the pile. I feel good about things right now. And I finally got back into blogging, with some much-overdue notes to share. I'll send the submissions in February.
ReplyDeleteI also took care of myself. I finally made it back to the gym yesterday after more than a month of not quite feeling well enough.
My NaNo writing group that meets year round has a weekly write-in at a nearby coffee shop. That one's fun. But since the group is so big it has other gatherings that take place throughout Greater Vancouver. One of them is at a tavern. And I have to say, there is something to be said for chatting with writers over a tankard (well, glass of cider for me), and just relaxing. On Thursday we read the opening paragraphs from our NaNos and traded first chapters for feedback. It felt great!
The tavern sounds like so much fun! We'll be cheering you on in February. Thanks for hosting.
DeleteI don't know how I missed the other check-ins, but I'm so excited to see that the big news is coming on Friday! I'll be looking for it and can't wait to celebrate YOU!
ReplyDeleteAs far as celebrating me, haha, I'm just plugging away on revisions, so the only big thing to celebrate is finishing my main clean-up revisions. Right now I'm taking another pass before sending it out to betas. And yes, STILL waiting on my other ms out there. Any good vibes in its direction would be much appreciated.
I STILL have to read NERVE! I really want to read it but I haven't been able to make much of a dent in my TBR pile lately. Sooooon.
Have a great week, everyone! Looking forward to the big news on Friday. :-)
Kip
I eagerly anticipate getting that WIP. ^_^
DeleteTaking time to celebrate YOU (me) is such an important thing to remember. I don't do it often enough. My problem is I don't allow myself celebration. It's an insecurity, mostly not thinking I deserve it. Thank you for the reminder!!
ReplyDeleteThis week I finished up revisions, and now doing some read-alouds. I hope to do my last round today and get them back to my agent. Crossing my fingers we're almost finished!
I'm thrilled about your big announcement on Friday...wondering what it could be. :)
Have a super-duper week everyone!!
You, too!
DeleteWow....what a fantastic week coming on your blog! Looking forward to it.
ReplyDeleteBeen a crazy busy last few weeks, so I need to settle myself and see where I been and where I be going. Am in the midst of doing revisions on my work for hire book on Russia. Gads, I am LOVING writing non-fiction. Will be exploring this more this week once I hand in the completed second draft of this book. Also need to work on revisions for the pb I recently sent to my crit group. Also need to get going on getting my blog/site much better organized than it is right now. Oddly enough that is how I treat myself. I love working on it.
Can't wait to hear your announcement...and congrats to Shari AND yay for an interview with Jeanne!
Here is to a wonderful wipmadness week. Thanks for hosting us, Angelina!
How exciting that you love writing non-fiction. Sounds like you're rolling along nicely. ^_^
DeleteIf anyone is looking for some reading material, I just got back from ALA and have a contest for TEN advance copies of books on my blog (http://denisejaden.blogspot.com)
ReplyDeleteThanks for hosting, Angelina!
My month has been decent work-wise. I seem to always have my head in two manuscripts at once these days. Just as I start into one, I seem to get feedback on another, which is awesome, but I am normally more of the single-minded type of writer. Anyway, pushing through on two more revisions this week. All the best to everyone else on their goals!
Maybe double-mindedness will suit you. ^_^
DeleteOoo, good news announcement on Friday?!?! Can't wait to hear it, Angelina.
ReplyDeleteAnd thanks for hosting me on your blog in a couple of days. Hope I do your blog justice. :)
As for celebrating myself, I drink a lot of Yerba Mata lattes, my new treat. Once I turn in my latest round of revisions, I'll celebrate by doing some extra stuff with my kids, e.g., joining my first-grader for lunch at school and spending a little time in her classroom. She's still at an age where Mommy visits are most appreciated and I want to take advantage of that. (makes me feel like a rock star) :)
Rock on!
DeleteWow, excellent stuff happening here, Angelina! Can't wait for your announcement, and yay!--an interview with Jeanne! And as if that weren't enough awesome, a musical prize pour moi?! That's so cool! Thank you, Angelina!!
ReplyDeleteI had a good month. Might not look that way if you go by my word count, but I've made some good progress with re-visioning this WIP and getting myself to a place where I'm ready to write it again (yes, this is a big deal for me, lol). So, I'm very excited about continuing the madness in February!
I'm working on a little project of sorts that will help me "celebrate myself and sing myself". Maybe will share it later when it's done....
Thanks for hosting this month, Angelina. :)
Yay for revisioning. ^_^
DeleteOoh, congrats, Jeanne on your debut book. DM me. You know I'm a reviewer at YA Books Central, right?
ReplyDeleteOoh, can't wait to hear your news, Angelina!
Great post! Celebrate yourself. I'm learning to say 'no' more so I can work on my own projects. I have a couple Beta readers who also are my critique buddies. But it seems like others now are 'asking' for my suggestions on their projects. I just need to learn to not take on too much or else I don't get to my own work and then feel like a failure.
I worked on my revision three times last week. I did do a last minute radio interview--on my birthday yet!
It was hard with weather and my birthday. I know, excuses! Also I'm worried that plague has hit our house. Husband's been sick, I have a sore throat and cold, and son's been just okay. Mother-in-law's been sick and of course husband was over at her apartment to do something and the next day he wasn't feeling well.
Here's to a better week and also to remember to 'celebrate ourselves'.
And for good health. .
DeleteLooks like the flu has landed. Ugh. Son sick with tummy bug. Husband was out for two days and I've been fighting something too.
DeleteJaye and I live mirror lives - her bad weather = good writing time is the EXACT opposite for me. Kids home, Noise ON. Distractions rule. I am begging. No more snow days/delayed openings! So THAT's been hard. But I've done pretty well with keeping up on my writing and with my beta reading. I love how you say "The mind is making space for a new month" because that's so true for me. I am allowing myself to get excited to start a new project (slowly this time, with outlining, which is a novelty for me) and am allowing myself to be quietly proud of what I've written. It won't last, it never does, but I will SING myself, even if it's sotto voce!
ReplyDeleteAngelina I CAN'T WAIT TO HEAR THE NEWS ON FRIDAY. Excited for you? Just a little. :)
Can't wait to hear the news! Singing myself is ignoring the chores for just a little longer so I can work out a scene. Then I can hit the responsibilities with a lighter heart.
ReplyDelete